Buoyant Ronnie Biggs looks ready to move home just days after prison release

Ronnie Biggs could be moved to a new home as early as this weekend after refusing to surrender to his grave health problems.

Relatives say the euphoria of being freed from his jail sentence by Justice Secretary Jack Straw has given the Great Train Robber a boost in his battle against pneumonia and other ailments.

Such has been his improvement that he may be transferred from hospital to a nursing home in Barnet, North London, later this week. The home is directly linked to the local hospital.

Recovery: Ronnie Biggs' friends claim his release from jail has 'given him strength', pictured here with his son Michael (file picture)

Biggs's prolonged stay at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital is said to have helped his recovery.

The improvement in his condition - which comes days after Mr Straw did a U-turn by announcing that he was freeing 80-yearold Biggs on compassionate grounds - has astonished friends.

They were convinced he was on the brink of dying last week. His son Michael, 34, had hurried to his father's hospital bed several times after doctors expressed concern about how long Biggs could survive.

One friend said: 'The danger now is him overdoing it.

'The sheer relief of actually being freed has unlocked reserves of strength the doctors didn't know he still had.

'His major decline came after he had been told he was to be released earlier this year, then Jack Straw decided not to. It really battered his morale and he sunk deep. Now he is feeling genuinely better, but we still aren't clear of the woods.'

Insiders maintain that Biggs's long-term prognosis remains grim and he may only have a few months to live. He has also suffered a series of strokes.

Hospital sources indicate that little has changed in his condition. He has remained stable since being re-admitted to hospital last month and medics say he is unlikely to make a full recovery.

Since his release on Friday, Biggs has given a brief interview to a Brazilian TV show. In it he spelt out 'I Love Brazil' on his alphabet board and then said he is missing Brazilian beer. He is also preparing to update his autobiography Odd Man Out.

As he was: Ronnie Biggs was seriously ill in hospital with pneumonia, but has recovered well

On Saturday, Biggs was well enough to leave his hospital bed and sit
in a chair to mark his 80th birthday. He also got to play with his
Brazilian-born granddaughter.

He spelt out: 'I've got a bit of living to do. I might even surprise
them all by lasting until Christmas. I'll live on just to spite those
who want me dead.'

Biggs's 80th birthday fell on the 46th anniversary of the Great Train Robbery.
He was part of a 15-strong gang which attacked a mail train at Ledburn,
Buckinghamshire, and made off with £2.6million in used banknotes.

Biggs was given a 30-year sentence but after 15 months he escaped
from prison. He spent more than 35 years on the run in Spain, Australia
and Brazil.

Biggs remained at large until 2001 when, desperately ill after
several strokes, he flew home for medical treatment. He was immediately
put behind bars to serve the rest of his sentence.

Last month, Mr Straw refused to grant him parole. It appeared Biggs
would die at Norwich Prison, where he had been held before being
transferred to hospital, because he would not have been entitled to
another parole hearing until next year.

But last week the Justice Secretary did a U-turn on the grounds that Biggs was being released to die.

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Buoyant Ronnie Biggs looks ready to move home just days after prison release